Isn't it bad enough to have to deal with Parkinson's disease and then have a life threatening side effect on top of one medical hardship?About 12,200 to 25,000 currently taking Permax for Parkinson's disease will have to find a new prescription drug. Permax (generic pergolide) causes heart valve damage.
Pergolide came on the market in 1988. Label warnings were added in 2002 after some reports of heart valve problems were received.
In 2006, a boxed warning regarding the risk of serious heart valve damage was added to the Permax labeling. Withdrawal was requested after two recent studies, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, indicated high rates of valve leakage - up to 20 percent - in patients taking Permax.
See: http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2007-03-29-pergolide_N.htm?csp=34
